Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [63]
modem A device that enables your computer to connect to the Internet over a standard phone, DSL, or cable line.
modifier keys Special keys (such as Shift, Option, , and Control) that enable you to give commands to your Mac by holding them down at the same time as you press letter or number keys or the mouse button.
monitor A computer’s display.
motion menus DVD menu screens that incorporate moving video in their backgrounds.
mount To connect to a disk drive (either one connected to your Mac or one connected to a network computer) so you can access its files in the Finder.
MP3 A compressed music file that’s very small but that retains very high quality.
multiwindow mode Finder mode in which double-clicking a folder displays its contents in a new window rather than in the same window.
N—O
network A group of computers linked together so that they can exchange information and share functions.
network locations Groups of network settings for specific situations or locations, such as an office LAN.
network port Computer hardware interface used to connect the computer to a network.
NTP Server See timeserver.
operating system (OS) The software that enables a computer to run.
P
pane A separate page in a dialog box, usually accessible by choosing from a pop-up menu or (as in the case of System Preferences) clicking a button.
pathname The address of a file on a hard drive; it lists the nested folders in which the file resides.
PDF See Portable Document Format.
peripheral A device that connects to your Mac, such as a printer, scanner, tape backup drive, or digital camera.
permissions File attributes that determine which user owns each file and which users are authorized to read it and make changes to it.
pixel Picture element; a square on the screen made up of a single color.
Places sidebar A column of disk and folder icons that appears on the left side of each Finder window in multiwindow mode.
playlist A collection of songs in iTunes.
PNG Portable Network Graphic format, a graphic file format used on the World Wide Web.
POP Post Office Protocol, the most common method of connecting to a mail server.
pop-up menu A menu that appears in a dialog box or other interface element rather than dropping down from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Portable Document Format The file format used by Adobe Reader (for-merly Acrobat Reader) and its related software, as well as Apple’s Preview. PDF documents look just like the original documents from which they were created.
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol, a method of connecting to the Internet via a phone modem.
PPPoE PPP over Ethernet, a method of connecting to the Internet via a DSL modem.
preview Small or low-res view of a file’s contents.
printer driver A file that describes the characteristics of a printer and enables programs to use the printer’s features.
processor The core of a computer; its brain.
profiles Data files that characterize how a device reproduces color. See also color management.
program A file containing thousands or even millions of instructions in such a way that a computer can follow them to perform some useful function for the user.
project A collection of files used to produce a movie in iMovie or a DVD in iDVD.
protected memory An operating system feature that places barriers around the areas of a computer’s memory (or RAM) being used by each program, so that if one program crashes, the other programs are unaffected.
proxy preview A thumbnail version of a document, usually in a dialog box, that can be manipulated to change the real document in the same way.
Q—R
queue The list of documents waiting to be printed.
QuickTime Apple’s proprietary video format.
RAM Random access memory, which is the part of a computer that stores the currently running programs and the currently open documents so you can work with them.
reboot To restart the Mac.
removable disk Any media that can be ejected from its drive and used in another computer.
resolution